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soap bubble

American  

noun

  1. a bubble of soapsuds.

  2. something that lacks substance or permanence.


soap bubble British  

noun

  1. a bubble formed from soapy water

  2. something that is ephemeral but attractive

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of soap bubble

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

His critiques and conclusions are as edgy as a soap bubble.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 17, 2026

Our cells are surrounded by a fragile membrane that's only 5 nanometers thick, 1/20 of a soap bubble.

From Science Daily Feb. 22, 2024

Over billions of years, gravity pulled additional material into those baryon-dense regions, and galaxies and galactic clusters preferentially formed along their boundaries in thin shells like dust settling on a soap bubble.

From Scientific American Sep. 27, 2023

She would be washing the dishes at home, the thought floating by like a stray soap bubble: Could she, Jessie Buckley, muster the courage to take on a role like Mariche?

From Washington Post Jan. 17, 2023

Madame Sabbar quick shot another grape and it disappeared down Jimmy’s throat, making a sound like a soap bubble getting busted!

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

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